The Changing of Minds
by Kaitz
Summary: A mysterious entity switches Janeway’s mind from her body to Chakotay’s body (and vice versa). Who could it be? And what are the consequences of this superhuman action? (**Part III is up!**)
1. Part I

Disclaimer: Everything in the Star Trek Universe belongs to Paramount.

Summary: A mysterious entity switches Janeway's mind from her body to Chakotay's body (and vice versa). Who could it be? And what are the consequences of this superhuman action?

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The Changing of Minds

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By Kaitz

As alpha shift came to a close, the captain of Voyager slowly lifted herself from her chair, and slowly made her way towards the turbolift. Her feet slowly lifted themselves from the ground, then deposited themselves slowly back down again, one in front of the other. She wondered if anyone could tell that the slowest, most boring day _ever_ in Voyager bridge history had affected her as much as everyone else. Of course, no one was paying enough attention to even notice the captain's transit. They were too busy trying to keep themselves from drifting from a state of semi-consciousness to total unconsciousness. Even Ensign Eager, or as some addressed him, Harry, was succumbing to the measureless monotony.

By this time, Janeway'd called for the turbolift three times successively, and it still hadn't arrived to rescue her from the godforsaken shift. Tapping her foot loudly against the carpet to show her displeasure at being kept waiting, she decided to deflect her annoyance onto a hapless crewman.

"Lieutenant Paris!" Janeway barked. "Lift your head up from the console immediately! This is a bridge, not a bedroom."

Tom's head shot up. "Wha? Huh?"

The captain's outburst had roused everyone on the bridge to wakefulness. Everyone except Tom, she noted, irked.

"Tom…" Harry whispered forcefully.

A measure of recognition as to his looming doom filtered into Tom's brain. "Captain! Uh—I'm sorry ma'am. I don't know what came over me." Thinking for a moment, he added, "It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Janeway replied with a tone that could slice through steel.

The whole bridge crew sunk deeper into their seats and backed farther into corners. Captain Janeway in a bad mood was not a woman to be trifled with. One glare and you might as well start writing your own eulogy.

To the junior officers' collective relief, the turbolift finally arrived. Out stepped Commander Chakotay, whistling a catchy tune as he prepared to start beta shift on the bridge.

Captain Janeway pressed two fingers to her throbbing temple. She stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and anger. 'I've just gotten off the absolute _worst _shift of my life, with the most _incompetent_ set of officers I've ever been assigned to work with. They can't even manage to stay awake on the _bridge_! How could _anyone else_ be in a good mood while I'm irate?!' Her private ranting just decreased in rationality from there.

"Commander." She snapped loudly. "Your whistling is disturbing the efficiency of the bridge crew. Please stop it immediately."

"Okay, Captain," he replied congenially, trying to suppress a grin. Alpha shift couldn't have been that fun today. ]The exact reason for her displeasure eluded him, though.

The ever-attentive captain noticed Chakotay's smirk, unfortunately. "Is there something you find amusing, Commander?"

"Not at all," he lied smoothly. Changing the subject, he added, "Oh, Captain. Don't forget about tomorrow."

"I didn't forget. Breakfast in the mess hall at 0800."

"I'm glad you remembered. I thought maybe with all the stress it might've slipped your mind." His teasing tone was clearly that of a man trying to cheer up his friend.

The corners of her mouth lifted a fraction of a millimeter. "Nothing _slips_ my mind, Chakotay." She then turned and left the bridge.

Chakotay let out a long whistle. "Anyone care to explain what's been going on up here?"

Everyone was silent.

"Alright then, I guess I'll just have to pick a volunteer. Harry? Have any idea?"

"No sir."

"Tom?"

"Sorry, Chakotay."

"Ensign Wildman?"

"Umm… Well, Commander--" she began.

"Sam!" Tom hissed. He didn't want to get in more trouble than he was already in.

Samantha glared at him. "Nothing's been going on, Commander. That's the problem. This has probably been the most uneventful bridge shift since we left the starless void some years back."

"I see." Chakotay held back a chuckle. "Now I understand. Thanks, Sam."

Tom sighed, sending a thankful smile over to Samantha. He should've known she wasn't the stool-pigeon type.

***********

Captain Janeway stalked into her quarters, her rage building once again. An inane crewman had left a large Bolian soufflé in the middle of the corridor and she'd managed to step in it, ruining her boots and her temporary moderate mood. To top it all off, B'Elanna had just informed her over the com that the replicators were malfunctioning. They wouldn't be fixed for three days! Three days with _no coffee_! Oh, GOD. What a day. What a day.

Janeway slumped onto her couch, exhausted. Her frenzy of fury had drained all her energy. All that was left now was exasperation. How could _she_ have gotten stuck with this incapable ship and crew? What had she done to deserve it? She was sick and tired of being captain, with her sole purpose in life being to serve others. Chakotay had a much easier time of it! As first officer, he got the privileges of command but not the horrible restrictions that were only placed on the most senior officer. He could relax with the crew often, while she, the captain, hardly ever could. She always had an endless stack of reports and PADDs to sift through. Life wasn't fair at all. She wished she could switch places with Chakotay desperately. Yeah, right. Like that was ever going to happen.

***********

Beta shift was drawing to a close. Chakotay stretched his neck for the fifth time in ten minutes. He counted the seconds mentally…. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, finally. He could leave. Thank the spirits.

He'd just spent the majority of his assigned bridge time in the captain's ready room, going over a blown-up personnel problem in engineering. B'Elanna wasn't in the mood to deal with the situation, so she'd sent her predicament up to him. Lucky Chakotay. Personnel was his department, after all. B'Elanna'd had every right to do what she'd done. Trying to rationalize it didn't dissipate his extreme annoyance, though. His good mood from before beta shift was completely gone. Other incidents that had been slightly annoying from the past week and month kept popping into his mind, and those didn't help matters any. For example, just last week he'd spent over half of his free time listening to complaints from some crewmen about other crewmen. Did no one care that he wanted a life outside his job?! He concluded with vehemence that the job of "first officer" was the most thankless one in the universe. What Chakotay wouldn't give to switch places with Kathryn and let her take the job permanently. Being captain had to be a hundred times better than this!

***********

An unseen figure had been observing both the captain's and the commander's "pity parties". When they finished, he guffawed uproariously.

"They both think they have the worst jobs ever! Ha! There are plenty of people who are much more worse off in the quadrant than them, but noooo…Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay are so egotistical it makes even _me_ look bad. Naughty, ungrateful humans. I really should give them a lesson, shouldn't I? Now what is clever enough---I know! Give them what they want, of course! They desire so much to be each other and have each other's jobs… Yes, that's perfect."

The entity snapped his fingers.

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To be continued… if you review! ; )


	2. Part II

Disclaimer: see part I

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The Changing of Minds

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Part II

"The time is 0715 hours. The time is 0715 hours."

Captain Janeway, previously dead to the world, was awakened by the computer's alarm. She whined in her head at the injustice of the alarm waking her up fifteen minutes later than she'd actually set it for. Didn't the computer know that it takes a captain, especially a female captain, at least an hour to get ready for work? She paused to reflect on her state of mind; she understood she was being a tad irrational, but she was hardly appreciative that it was morning. Her bad mood apparently hadn't dissipated during the night. How wonderful for the crew, she mused, smirking.

Her emotional health must've been having a serious effect on her physical health; her head felt dizzy and her limbs felt heavier. And she still hadn't lifted her eyelids; they felt too weighty. She let out a long, exasperated groan. Wait, what was _that_? Did she have a cold? Her groan sounded very deep for some reason. It was probably just pre- sonic shower sleepiness, she determined.

'Alright, Kathryn. Get your lazy behind out of bed. You have to get ready to meet Chakotay,' she ordered herself mentally.

Janeway pulled the covers off her body.

"Oh my God," she toned softly, eyes widened in disbelief. "What the _hell_ is going on?!"

***********

"The time is 0700 hours. The time is 0700 hours."

The computer slowly toned Chakotay into a state of consciousness. It wasn't easy. Waking up fifteen minutes earlier than he'd expected to made him extremely angry with the computer. His head felt like it was going to explode… There, another problem! Just one more peachy day for the first officer of the Starship Voyager, he mused sarcastically.

Although his burdens weighed down his mind, Chakotay's body felt lighter than usual. Maybe he'd had too many drinks last night and as a result couldn't remember having any at all—or maybe he was coming down with some sort of flu. Chakotay didn't know. All he knew was that he had to go meet Kathryn for breakfast at 0800. At least there'd be one bright spot in his day. Maybe he'd get there early and prepare a special coffee blend for her. Yes, she would definitely appreciate that.

Forcing himself to open his eyes as a first step towards getting up, Chakotay stared at the ceiling. He then looked down and to the side. Hold on, where was he? This wasn't his bedroom. It was… Kathryn's? Yes this was definitely Kathryn's room. He could see her four pips lying on the night table. But the captain herself wasn't there. What was he doing in _her_ bed? How had he gotten there? Determined to find out what was going on, Chakotay threw off the sheets and jumped to his feet.

"What the…." Chakotay trailed off, unable to complete his sentence. He couldn't find words to express his bewilderment at what he thought he was seeing.

***********

Kathryn swept her eyes up and down her boxer-clad body in shock. She just couldn't believe what she was seeing was actually real. To prove to herself that she wasn't going crazy, she stalked over to the mirror in the slightly familiar bathroom. Yes, that confirmed it. She wasn't seeing things (unless the mirror was playing tricks on her). She knew she was Kathryn Janeway, but saw Commander Chakotay reflecting back at her. How in the galaxy had this happened? What was she going to do?

"Snap out of it, Captain!" she yelled at herself in Chakotay's deep voice. "Just call… wait, who can I call? Who will believe me when I say I'm Kathryn Janeway, apparently "stuck" in Chakotay's body? It sounds ludicrous even to me, and I'm the one going through it! Argh! I would call Chakotay, but--" Then realization dawned on her. "If I'm stuck in Chakotay's body, then where is Chakotay? He's either gone, or in… my body."

As the reality of her situation struck her, Janeway sunk down onto the edge of Chakotay's bed, breathing hard. She couldn't grasp the enormity of what had occurred; how it had happened, or why it'd happened were unimportant at the present time. All she could think about was that it had indeed occurred, and that she had to find Chakotay, wherever he was. She decided that before she was able to locate him, she could tell no one of what had transpired. It was just too risky at the moment; she could be thrown in the brig for fear she would endanger others with her insane notions. She would simply have to pretend to be Chakotay, if only for a little while. That wasn't going to be easy; looking in the mirror and seeing Chakotay and hearing his voice as she spoke would be good reminders, though.

"Stop planning and start acting," Kathryn chided herself. Well, here goes nothing.

She picked up Chakotay's combadge from the dresser, and activated it. "Chakotay to Janeway," she called uncertainly in her first officer's voice.

***********

Chakotay paced around the captain's bedroom, unable to come to any conclusion about what was going on. He saw that his appearance was akin to that of Captain Janeway; hell, he _was_ Kathryn! But he wasn't at the same time. His movements, voice, facial expressions, all mirrored Kathryn but were all directed by him, Chakotay. Was he actually Kathryn? Was he stuck in her body? How could that possibly be?

"Computer," he called out in her commanding tone. "How many people are in this room?"

"One—Captain Kathryn Janeway," the computer replied emotionlessly.

"And who am I?" Chakotay asked uncertainly.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway."

"Thanks a lot," he muttered. "Just what I wanted to hear."

Suddenly he heard the captain's combadge beep. A male voice sounded in the room. It was _his_ voice. It hailed, "Chakotay to Janeway."

He was quickly overcome with anxiety. 'How can I be calling myself?' he thought anxiously. He paced the floor a couple more times, unsure of how to respond.

The address sounded again. "Chakotay to Janeway."

Chakotay made his decision. He tapped the combadge.

"Janeway here," he said in Kathryn's voice.

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To be continued soon… (I will be away on holiday for a couple of days, however, and won't be able to update the story until then. I apologize to all those waiting for the next part!)


	3. Part III

Disclaimer: See Part I

Author's note: A special thank you and hugs to all the kind people who have reviewed this story! Please continue to share your thoughts about it! :)

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The Changing of Minds

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Part III

"Janeway here," Kathryn heard her voice reply.

She winced inwardly. 'Wonderful. I'm talking to myself. Literally. What a novelty.'

"Hello?" she heard her voice again, prompting her out of her reverie.

"Yes, Captain?" Kathryn called awkwardly. "I was wondering—are you feeling all right?"

*

Next door, Chakotay was perplexed. Should he tell whomever he was talking to the truth, or just keep playing along?

"Actually," he began speaking again, "I'm not feeling that well. Why do you ask?"

Yes, that was an able strategy. Maybe he could find out what was going on without compromising his situation.

*

Kathryn finally had a lead. The alleged captain had said she wasn't feeling well—this was very uncharacteristic behavior for Janeway. She knew she would never admit to anyone, even Chakotay, if she were feeling under the weather. Now, all she had to do was ascertain who she was really talking to. Conversing over the com was not getting her anywhere fast; she had to meet the "captain" face to face.

"Umm—no reason, Captain," she responded belatedly. She was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Her and Chakotay's scheduled breakfast together popped into her mind. Perfect!

"I was just wondering if you'd agree to have breakfast in my quarters instead of the mess hall. There's a matter of some urgency that I wish to discuss with you."

*

'A matter of some urgency?' Chakotay repeated in his head. 'I wonder…'

He quickly decided to go to breakfast. It was better than sitting there speculating.

"Alright—Chakotay," he quickly added. "0800 still?"

"Yes," was the reply, voiced in a clipped tone.

"Okay then, Cha—Janeway out." Chakotay quickly ended the conversation. It was more than a little difficult to remember he had temporarily assumed the captain's identity. And in less than half an hour, he had to go have breakfast with himself. He'd better have pulled it together by then—if he couldn't find answers to his questions soon… The consequences were too morbid to think about.

********

30 minutes. 30 minutes before she'd stand face to face with herself. How to prepare? Oh yes, a sonic shower would be nice. Help Kathryn clear the cobwebs out of her mind. But wait—she wouldn't be cleaning herself. She'd be cleaning—Chakotay.

A dozen R-rated thoughts flitted through her head, teasing her as spitefully as children. 'Kathryn!' she warned herself mentally. 'None of that. You have to keep your cool at a time like this.'

Her devilish side snorted at her. 'Right, Kathryn. Being at liberty to see Chakotay without a bit of clothing on is an opportunity you're going to pass up? I don't think so.'

The sides of her mouth tugged up into a smirk. It would be—enjoyable—to see Chakotay's body. But, would that be right? No, not really. It would be violating her first officer's privacy! Just a tiny peek wouldn't hurt though, would it?

She sighed. No, she wouldn't give into temptation. But she swore, one day, her damned morals would be the end of her!

********

Arriving a minute early at the door to his quarters, Chakotay stopped before ringing the chime to muse over his hasty preparations for this important meeting. He'd had quite a time trying to get "himself" dressed and ready to go! He knew he had to pretend he was Captain Janeway, and thus, needed her appearance to look as close to normal as possible. Chakotay couldn't, however, deal with blow-drying Kathryn's hair after the quick shower (and the shower was a revelation for Chakotay in and of itself!). Nor could he apply any makeup, save a touch of lipstick. Even that looked horrible. About the only thing he put on right, or so he believed, was the uniform. This was something he was used to—the size was smaller and the insignia of a higher rank were different, but those were things he could accustom himself to. Nothing hard about wearing a captain's pips, after all.

Chakotay summoned up his courage, and pressed the chime.

He waited.

He waited some more.

Finally, as he was about to press the button again, the doors pulled open. Standing there, as he had expected though really couldn't believe, was himself. No training at Starfleet Academy could ever prepare a future officer for an experience like this.

********

Kathryn had heard the chime ring a while ago. However she still stood on the other side of the doors to Chakotay's quarters, unable to bring herself to utter a word. She knew she had to let "herself" in; her voice just wasn't being at all cooperative.

Her hands were working, though, and a brilliant idea suddenly came to her. Use the panel by the side of the door to open it! 'Wow, Kathryn,' she congratulated herself sarcastically. 'Can't believe you thought of that.'

Shaking her head, Kathryn reached out with Chakotay's hand to open the door. It slid open automatically, and appearing in front of her was… herself.

Kathryn had planned to say something intelligent when she greeted her visitor, but all that came out of her mouth was a strangled groan.

Her guest chuckled, apprehension temporarily subsided. "My sentiments exactly," he affirmed to Kathryn.

Hearing her voice was like a splash of cold water; Janeway quickly regained her senses. "Oh, I'm sorry! Please come in—Captain."

"Thank you," Chakotay replied, stepping into his quarters. Inadvertently he added, "It's nice to be home."

He quickly realized his error.

"I mean—your quarters is like home to me, Chakotay. I spend a lot of time here, after all…" he trailed off quietly. 'Dumb, dumb, dumb mistake!' he chastised himself.

Kathryn raised an eyebrow at the obvious faux pas. Did this mean what she thought it meant, though? Was Chakotay in her body? Just ask him, Kathryn! This beating around the bush is ridiculous!

"Captain," she began forthrightly. "This may seem absurd, hell, it may seem impossible. But what I need to discuss with you, is, to me, utterly real."

Chakotay's attention was caught. "What's wrong, Commander?" he asked.

"Well, it seems—I am not who you think I am." Kathryn paused, unsure of how to continue.

Her companion, sensing Kathryn's uncertainty, endeavored to help her out. "Who are you, then?" he asked quietly, confident in the answer he was going to hear.

Kathryn looked into her piercing eyes, steadily encouraging her to go on. The look was not her own—it reminded her distinctly of Chakotay, and it gave her courage. She continued, now more bold and sure, "I am Kathryn Janeway. Although I look and sound like Chakotay, I am not him. Now—who are you?"

Chakotay felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. He knew it was Kathryn—the gung-ho tone in the voice left no question about it. It was easy for him to answer her question. "I am Chakotay, not you, Kathryn. Don't be misled by my appearance. Although, I must admit, I look a good deal prettier than usual!"

Chakotay's revelation, added to his attempt at lightening the mood, lifted Kathryn's spirits immeasurably. Now that she knew Chakotay wasn't gone, and that she wasn't insane, her resolve returned in full strength. It was just a matter of time before things were back to normal again.

"I'm so happy it's you, Chakotay," Kathryn confessed softly. "I was afraid you were gone."

He smiled gently. "I'm here Kathryn. And now that we know who we are, things will be infinitely easier. We'll figure out how to solve this. The whole crew can help. The Doctor, B'Elanna--"

A bright light flashed in the middle of the room, halting Chakotay's words.

A being appeared with the light, and the command team looked on in disbelief.

"Q!" Kathryn snapped angrily. "What the hell is going on?"

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To be continued… (I promise I'll update as soon as I can, but I won't have access to a computer for at least a week. I am very sorry for the delay!)


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